Downloadable Audiobooks

[Lathum]

Anyone ever use them?

Can you burn them to a cd or do they have to be listened to with an MP3 player?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Anyone ever use them?

Can you burn them to a cd or do they have to be listened to with an MP3 player?

Both. I downloaded a lot of books on Audible. I burned a few to CD, but it usually takes a lot of CDs. Most I just listen to on my iPod. I love it.

[Lathum]

Both. I downloaded a lot of books on Audible. I burned a few to CD, but it usually takes a lot of CDs. Most I just listen to on my iPod. I love it.

Thanks, do you need to be a member or can you just buy the download?

I saw it say something about downloading software?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Thanks, do you need to be a member or can you just buy the download?

I saw it say something about downloading software?

If I recall, you need to sign up in order to get an account, which I think is typical for a lot on-line stores. I had a membership that gave me 2 downloads a month for some monthly fee, but you can also just purchase books one at a time.

You do download some software that helps you manage your audible files. It's nothing too fancy.

If you have an iPod and iTunes, moving an Audible file from their software to iTunes is as simple as clicking and dragging. I am not sure how it works with other MP3 players or the like, but I imagine it's not too much more difficult.

The one thing to note is that there are some restrictions with the files you buy. I think you can download them up to 3 computers or something? I can't recall the exact specifics.

[bob]

Both. I downloaded a lot of books on Audible. I burned a few to CD, but it usually takes a lot of CDs. Most I just listen to on my iPod. I love it.

A question about Audible - does it give you one (or just a few) files per book, or do you get a file every 5 - 10 minutes? I ask b/c my mp3 player does not keep track of where you were when you turn it off, and having to fast forward to the last spot would suck.

[Honolulu_Blue]

A question about Audible - does it give you one (or just a few) files per book, or do you get a file every 5 - 10 minutes? I ask b/c my mp3 player does not keep track of where you were when you turn it off, and having to fast forward to the last spot would suck.

Hrmm... I think the answer is no.

Some large books are downloaded in multiple files (but these run at like 6 or so hours a piece) and shorter books are dowloaded as a single file.

I am not sure if they break them up in any fashion. My guess would be, no. My iPod keeps track of where I am for the most part, but there have been times when the battery died or what not that I found myself having to fastforward to where I was prior.

There are some downloading options, but I never explored them all that carefully. It's also been a while since I downloaded a book from there, so there may be some new features.

[tyketime]

I am a current member of Audible. Honolulu is correct in that they break larger books into a couple of files. The current book I'm listening to came in 2 parts of between 5-6 hours each. I also listen to mine on an Ipod, so it remembers my place the next time I listen to it. I don't think you would have the option to break them into even smaller segments. Seemed like each file was around 100MB.

On my Ipod, there is an screen that shows the book broken apart into smaller segments. While I don't think these correlate to each chapter, I will look more closely tonight.

Currently I get two books a month, but having just purchased a Kindle, I think I would like to cut the membership in half. You can either pay a monthly fee, or a somewhat cheaper per book cost if you pay an Annual Fee.

Hope this helps, and I'll be glad to answer other questions if you have them.

[terpkristin]

Been a member of Audible since 2003 or so. If you have an mp3 player, that's the more convenient way to listen to them, though as others have said, it takes a lot of CD's if you're going to burn it (which is allowable but sometimes inconvenient). The books are ridiculously overpriced if you don't buy a plan. I'm on a legacy 2 book/month program, the price has gone up slightly since I started, but I still love it. I've got 12.33 GB of audiobooks on my computer right now, and that's not even my entire collection.

The software you download is a download manager, you can usually use it with iTunes or Windoze Media Player. On iTunes and the iPod, Audible books by default keep memory of where you are (you can turn the option off if you want, but that seems silly), never used it with anything else so I can't speak to how it works on other players.

Longer books are broken into multiple parts. I usually make a playlist for the whole book. This is the case for books like George RR Martin's ASOIAF, Jordan's WoT series, and what I'm currently listening to, The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett). The longest book section I have is almost 9.5 hours, from a GRRM's A Clash of Kings.

I <3 Audible.

/tk

[Lathum]

thanks for the info, I used it with no problem. I have an ipod but it is synced with a different computer so I will have to burn CD's for now.

[Barkeep49]

Many libraries off downloadable audio books that you can borrow, on computer or windows based MP3 players, through your library card.

[sterlingice]

I do a lot of CD audiobooks from my local library. A less scrupulous person, perhaps one with no cd player in their car, for instance ;) would burn them to an MP3 player. But personally, CDs work just fine for me.

I have downloaded some Project Gutenberg audiobooks to my ipod. They're of mixed quality. You never know how good of voice acting you are going to get.

SI